Or is it just the lame-o lame-ness of every business and event planned in Fresno???? We are consumers that have money which we would like to exchange for goods and services, but the businesses we solicit for such exchange can't seem to figure out how to cooperate.
So the Rogue Festival is in full swing this weekend and there are shows starting practically every hour at a number of Tower District venues. So why was it so effing impossible to find a place to have lunch today or a drink in the afternoon???!!! Seriously! Jenny and I wanted to make the Rent show at Severance on Wishon at 1pm. So we thought we'd lunch at Mr. Sushi at noon. Wrong, Mr. Sushi was closed. Oh, well, we'll walk down to Million Elephant. Which, by the way, we will now pronounce "MILLON" (sans the i) like in Slumdog Millionaire. Closed! So we walked across the street to the Chicken Pie Shop which is usually a great choice for a Sat morning greasefest, but you need time to eat there. So we finally got served at 12:45 and figured, well, we won't make Rent, so we'll go to Ed's art showing at Ashtree Studio at 2:30. So we left lunch (which was actually breakfast mmmmbreakfast), walked past the ice cream shop, which was also closed, btw, which is stupid because it was a beautiful warm sunny day and tons of people out and about probably would have loved to sample some local Fresno State or Superior Dairy ice cream...anyway, we shopped around the hippie store (Brass Unicorn) (where I signed up for belly dancing again) and Karen's Keepsakes (where Jenny was able to at least purchase a birthday card for Carrie) and then thought, well, we have about 30 more min to kill - where to go? How about a chardonnay at Vini's? They're bound to be open, right? They are a Rogue venue and are in between shows, plus there is obviously something going on outside on the patio. Wrong again! Not open. They have a private party on the patio and the bar is closed. There is even a Rogue booth out front and the door open, but the bar is not open.
Seriously, Fresno?? The only time when people from all over town and even from out of town come down to this area and every business we attempt to support is closed??? Aaaaack!
I will also call to reference the failure of Fulton Plaza Thursdays. What a great idea, right? Lets take a depressed mall that has nothing but nostalgia on its side and bring people with money to spend to it. We'll have a beergarden and a band and some taco booths. Great. Are any of the stores open????? No. The stores have not stayed open past 5 or 6pm for years. Its too dangerous. So even if I wanted to shop at the zapateria or buy an 18k gold Raiders necklace, I can't. So this time, lets try it on Kern Street - maybe if we put some multi-millon dollar lights in the trees, it will work. Maybe.
So, way to go, Fresno. Way to work with the businesses and would-be consumers to encourage the local economy. And yes, I used the word "encourage" rather than the word "stimulate." Hahaha stimulate.
So the Rogue Festival is in full swing this weekend and there are shows starting practically every hour at a number of Tower District venues. So why was it so effing impossible to find a place to have lunch today or a drink in the afternoon???!!! Seriously! Jenny and I wanted to make the Rent show at Severance on Wishon at 1pm. So we thought we'd lunch at Mr. Sushi at noon. Wrong, Mr. Sushi was closed. Oh, well, we'll walk down to Million Elephant. Which, by the way, we will now pronounce "MILLON" (sans the i) like in Slumdog Millionaire. Closed! So we walked across the street to the Chicken Pie Shop which is usually a great choice for a Sat morning greasefest, but you need time to eat there. So we finally got served at 12:45 and figured, well, we won't make Rent, so we'll go to Ed's art showing at Ashtree Studio at 2:30. So we left lunch (which was actually breakfast mmmmbreakfast), walked past the ice cream shop, which was also closed, btw, which is stupid because it was a beautiful warm sunny day and tons of people out and about probably would have loved to sample some local Fresno State or Superior Dairy ice cream...anyway, we shopped around the hippie store (Brass Unicorn) (where I signed up for belly dancing again) and Karen's Keepsakes (where Jenny was able to at least purchase a birthday card for Carrie) and then thought, well, we have about 30 more min to kill - where to go? How about a chardonnay at Vini's? They're bound to be open, right? They are a Rogue venue and are in between shows, plus there is obviously something going on outside on the patio. Wrong again! Not open. They have a private party on the patio and the bar is closed. There is even a Rogue booth out front and the door open, but the bar is not open.
Seriously, Fresno?? The only time when people from all over town and even from out of town come down to this area and every business we attempt to support is closed??? Aaaaack!
I will also call to reference the failure of Fulton Plaza Thursdays. What a great idea, right? Lets take a depressed mall that has nothing but nostalgia on its side and bring people with money to spend to it. We'll have a beergarden and a band and some taco booths. Great. Are any of the stores open????? No. The stores have not stayed open past 5 or 6pm for years. Its too dangerous. So even if I wanted to shop at the zapateria or buy an 18k gold Raiders necklace, I can't. So this time, lets try it on Kern Street - maybe if we put some multi-millon dollar lights in the trees, it will work. Maybe.
So, way to go, Fresno. Way to work with the businesses and would-be consumers to encourage the local economy. And yes, I used the word "encourage" rather than the word "stimulate." Hahaha stimulate.
